SEN support and funding

Identifying Special Educational Needs

School Approach

Schools should have a clear approach to identifying and responding to special educational needs.

The SEND Code of Practice states that:

Class and subject teachers, supported by the senior leadership team, should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.

If progress continues to be less than expected, the teacher and SENCO should then assess whether the child has SEN.

Identification by child or parent

Sometimes special educational needs can be detected at an early age.

If a parent or child raises concerns about their child’s/ their development, professionals should listen and address these concerns.

What is SEN support?

The SEND Code of Practice states that:

A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special education provision, namely provision different from, or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.

Who decides what SEN support my child has?

Parents should be involved in the needs assessment, alongside the class/ subject teacher, SENCO and any other relevant parties.

The SEND Code of Practice states:

The teacher and the SENCO should agree in consultation with the parent and the pupil the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place, as well as the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour, along with a clear date for review

The graduated approach

The support the individual receives should form part of a four part cycle where earlier decisions are revisited, refined and revised alongside an understanding of the pupils needs and of what supports them in making good progress and securing good outcomes.

Assess

The teacher, along with the SENCO should carry out a clear analysis of the pupils needs. This should draw on:

The teachers assessment and experience of the pupil.

The pupils previous progress and attainment.

Information from the schools core approach to progress, attainment and behaviour.

Subject teachers assessments (if relevant).

Development in comparison to their peers and national data.

Views and experience of parents.

Pupils own views.

Advice from external support services (if relevant).

The views of professionals involved with the child from health and social care.

Plan

When it is decided that a pupil should receive SEN support, parents must be formally notified.

Adjustments, intervention, support and outcomes

The teacher and SENCO should agree with the parent and pupil the adjustments, intervention and support to be put in place.

Any support and intervention agreed should relate to the outcomes identified for the pupil.

Agreement should also be reached on the pupils expected progress and a date for review.

Parents should be fully aware of any support and interventions and, if appropriate, they should be involved with the plan so they can contribute to pupil progress at home.

Do

The class/ subject teacher should be responsible for working with the child on a daily basis.

Teaching assistants and specialist staff will have an in depth understanding of the support they give to the pupil. The teacher should work closely with them to assess the impact of the support and how this can be applied to classroom teaching.

Review

Regular reviews help to ensure that:

Support and intervention are relevant to needs.

Barriers to learning are identified and overcome.

A plan of the interventions put in place and their effects are regularly examined and developed.

At the review:

The effectiveness of the pupils support should be reviewed.

The impact and quality of support should be evaluated (along with the views of the pupil and their parent.

The class/ subject teacher and SENCO should revise support in light of the pupil’s progress and development, alongside the parent and pupil.

Parents should receive clear information about the impact of the pupils support and interventions, so they can be involved in planning the next steps.

Funding for SEN support

All mainstream schools are provided with resources to support those with additional needs, including pupils with SEN and disabilities.

Schools should provide a clear description of the types of special education provision they normally provide. This will help parents of children with SEN understand what they can expect the school to provide.

Where more expensive provision is necessary, and this provision exceeds the nationally prescribed threshold, the local authority should provide top-up funding.

Bullying

The Anti-Bullying Alliance have launched a free, online anti-bullying information tool for parents and carers. The tool is interactive and designed to give parents and carers information about bullying. The tool will help parents if they:

are concerned that their child may be vulnerable to bullying at school.